Chapter 50

The male god he had admired for many years had confessed to him, how could Jiang Chi not nod?

Ye Lan let out a sigh of relief. God knew how worried he was an hour ago that Jiang Chi would do something stupid and sign a renewal contract to stay at Century Entertainment.

With the work matter settled, both of them had a lot to say to each other. Unfortunately, Ye Lan's phone kept ringing, and they were all calls he had to take.

Ye Lan answered irritably and put the call on speaker.

"Is Jiang Chi with you?" An Ya had just spoken with Cen Wen and had a general idea of the situation. "Tell him not to leave yet. I can't get through to his phone. Being unreachable at a time like this is too troublesome. Have him turn his phone on first."

Ye Lan gave Jiang Chi a dark look. Jiang Chi said awkwardly, "It's not that I turned it off on purpose... the battery's dead."

Ye Lan placed his phone on the table, got up to get a power bank for Jiang Chi, and told him to plug it in. He then said, "Go on."

An Ya said, "There's no movement from Century Entertainment yet, but we still need to prepare in advance. They won't necessarily admit defeat. Even if they're wary of Jiang Chi taking them down with him and don't create a fuss, they won't honestly and sincerely bless Jiang Chi for signing with our studio."

"Besides, without Jiang Chi, Century Entertainment's number one brother will be Yu Xijia. If they want to promote Yu Xijia, then friction with Jiang Chi will be inevitable. I heard Yu Xijia is also gearing up to use this opportunity to viciously smear Jiang Chi."

"Yu Xijia..." Ye Lan had a rare impression of this person. It wasn't because Yu Xijia was famous, but because he had debuted at the same time as Ye Lan. Although their career paths were worlds apart, one in heaven and one on earth, and they had never crossed paths, he had at least been around for nearly ten years. Ye Lan knew of him, more or less. Ye Lan frowned. "Why would promoting him cause friction with Jiang Chi? And what's he getting worked up about?"

"You don't know?" An Ya was surprised and asked in return, "His relationship with Jiang Chi has always been bad. Hasn't Jiang Chi told you?"

Ye Lan looked at Jiang Chi. Jiang Chi gave a dry laugh and explained, "It's nothing, really. It's just... for the role of Pei Ran before, my senior brother Yu Xijia also auditioned but didn't pass. Later, he heard I passed the audition, and also heard I didn't ask for any payment, so... he told others that I stole his role."

"Is he sick in the head?" Ye Lan was incredulous. "I was the one who failed him in that audition. Why is he blaming you?"

Jiang Chi and An Ya were both stunned. An Ya was dumbfounded, "What kind of ill-fated connection is this? You were the one who failed him?!"

"Are you kidding? I was present for the live auditions of the main roles in the early stages of 'The Scum'. I remember his session quite clearly. Ren Haichuan had something to attend to and couldn't make it, so I filled in as the main audition teacher. I told him on the spot, 'No good'." Ye Lan scoffed, shook his head, and said sarcastically, "My God, I hope he's not telling people I was satisfied with him. If I had really let him pass, Ren Haichuan would have beaten me to death with a clapperboard when he returned to the set."

"He's two years older than me, his looks aren't right, he simply can't play a character in his early twenties anymore. His acting is average too, there was no way he could pass, no matter who was judging the audition. Later, the role of Pei Ran remained undecided, and no one had time to wait around, so they changed it to video auditions, and I didn't bother with it anymore." Ye Lan looked at Jiang Chi. "Didn't you send in your audition video around that time?"

"Yes, yes, yes, I... I didn't know you were the audition teacher." Jiang Chi was full of regret. "I was injured at the time and couldn't make it to the live audition. If I had known it was you, I definitely would have gone."

Ye Lan imagined Jiang Chi properly holding a script, bowing to him and saying "Hello, teacher," and then earnestly auditioning for the role. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. "If you had come..."

Jiang Chi's heart stirred. He looked at Ye Lan, a faint sense of anticipation in his eyes.

Ye Lan recalled the audition video of Jiang Chi he had seen before. Thinking about it realistically, he held back a laugh. "You were hoping I'd audition you live? Based on that video of yours... I probably wouldn't have let you pass either."

Jiang Chi gave a helpless smile, not feeling unconvinced. His performance during the audition was indeed mediocre. To satisfy Ye Lan would have been too unrealistic.

"However..." Ye Lan licked his lips lightly and gently covered the phone's microphone with his fingertips. "If you had been a little more sensible back then, a little more accommodating, and let the main audition teacher take some advantage of you, it might have been considered."

Jiang Chi's eyes trembled, and his face instantly turned red.

An Ya didn't hear the latter half of what Ye Lan said and asked blankly, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just sexually harassed my newly signed artist." Ye Lan said with a calm face, continuing with business. "If Yu Xijia doesn't behave, what kind of trouble can he make?"

"..." An Ya took a deep breath. She figured similar incidents would be common in the future. Getting angry every time was bad for her health; it was better to play deaf. She pretended she hadn't heard and continued her analysis, "We think that with his company keeping him in check, he can't make too big of a wave. At most, he'll play up the zero-payment issue. But since you were his audition teacher at the time, many things become simpler. He should also be wary of you confronting him directly and clarifying what happened back then. So... he's not much of a threat. We just need to be on guard."

Ye Lan nodded, lit a cigarette, and frowned as he lectured Jiang Chi, "If you have a grudge with someone, report it early so everyone can prepare. Don't leave people in the dark."

The new employee obediently accepted the lesson: "Okay..."

Ye Lan took a drag from his cigarette. 'Okay my ass,' he thought. 'An Ya knows things I don't. When he makes enemies outside, shouldn't he come find me at the first opportunity, crying and calling me 'daddy' while asking me to help him fight back?'

"Besides Century Entertainment and Yu Xijia, we'll also keep an eye on your other rivals, as well as Tong Yizhe, with whom you just made an enemy. We need to be even more careful with those from Super Entertainment who love to fish in troubled waters, as we've long been incompatible with them." An Ya sighed and said sincerely, "Fortunately, Jiang Chi handled it promptly and suppressed the matter concerning you, giving us enough time to prepare. Otherwise, if it had truly blown up, it would have been too difficult to handle. Losing a role or money is one thing, but once an artist's reputation is damaged, it's incredibly hard to recover."

Ye Lan smiled. "That's up to you guys then."

"Don't worry, they're the ones on the back foot now." A few other people spoke on the other end of the line. After a moment of noise, An Ya said mockingly, "Century Entertainment still thinks Jiang Chi is going to Starlight. They're trying all sorts of ways to hint to the people at Starlight that Jiang Chi is difficult to manage and doesn't follow company rules."

Ye Lan raised an eyebrow at Jiang Chi. "She's talking about you. Are you easy to manage?"

Jiang Chi glanced at Ye Lan's phone. Not wanting An Ya to hear, he whispered with red ears, "Easy to manage..."

Ye Lan stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and asked lazily, "Do you follow company rules?"

The atmosphere inexplicably became ambiguous. Jiang Chi looked at Ye Lan imploringly. Ye Lan pretended not to see, a half-smile on his face. "I'm asking you."

"Let me tell you in advance," Ye Lan intensified his teasing, "I'm the one who sets the company rules. I've never signed anyone else before, so the system isn't perfect yet. Basically, you can't go wrong just listening to me. Is that okay?"

Jiang Chi kept looking at Ye Lan's phone, feeling extremely embarrassed.

Ye Lan knew he was thin-skinned. He smiled and raised a hand to hang up the phone.

An Ya, who had just breathed a sigh of relief and was ready to listen to some gossip: "..."

"I don't know how other bosses promote their artists. Since it's my first time, how about I just do as I please?" Ye Lan's eyes held a smile as he asked Jiang Chi, "Is that okay?"

Jiang Chi blushed and nodded. "Okay."

"You should have just said 'okay' from the start." Ye Lan smiled. "Making me bully you a little first, I..."

Before Ye Lan could finish, Jiang Chi's phone rang.

"Geng Tian..." Jiang Chi looked at his phone, troubled. "Should I... answer it?"

Jiang Chi actually wanted to hear Ye Lan "bully" him more.

At this critical juncture, he couldn't afford to miss any calls. Ye Lan rubbed his brow and waved his hand irritably. "Answer it."

Jiang Chi thought for a moment and also put it on speaker.

Before Jiang Chi could tell Geng Tian he was with Ye Lan, the person on the other end of the line blurted out a long string of words like beans pouring from a pod.

Geng Tian had just heard that Jiang Chi had gotten into a fight at the company and was scared out of his wits. He still subconsciously regarded Jiang Chi as his artist and instinctively reprimanded him, "Can't you just talk things out properly? What did you promise me before you went? Jiang Chi, did you do it on purpose? Deliberately going crazy when all the executives were there, offending every single one of them? I've discovered that you really become a different person whenever it's about Ye Lan..."

Geng Tian's tone was hostile. Ye Lan furrowed his brows, about to curse back, but when he heard the phrase "become a different person whenever it's about Ye Lan," his anger suddenly vanished. He leaned back on the sofa, a smile playing on his lips, and looked at Jiang Chi teasingly.

Jiang Chi said, embarrassed, "The situation was special..."

"I don't care what the situation was, do you know how difficult things are for me right now?! Almost everyone knows I was the one who tipped you off!" Geng Tian knew Jiang Chi wouldn't sell him out, but whether Jiang Chi said anything or not, as his manager, he was the prime suspect. The company naturally wasn't happy with him. Geng Tian regretted it so much his intestines were turning green. "It was a moment of impulse, and now I'm dragged down by you..."

"That's about enough," Ye Lan couldn't listen anymore and said with a frown, "Are you done?"

Geng Tian froze for a moment before realizing who was speaking, and instantly fell silent.

Jiang Chi pursed his lips. He was able to respond to this incident so quickly thanks to Geng Tian risking it to leak the news to him in advance. Now that Geng Tian was implicated, Jiang Chi felt quite guilty.

Ye Lan considered it for a moment and said, "Let Century suspect you then. You might as well just admit it to them. Say you were the one who tipped him off and let them fire you."

Geng Tian repeated dazedly, "Fire me?"

Ye Lan hummed in agreement. "After they fire you, I'll arrange for you to join Starlight. Of course, you can't be Jiang Chi's manager anymore, but I definitely won't let you be sidelined."

After two seconds of silence, Geng Tian was ecstatic. "Really? That's great! You're truly..."

"Spare me the compliments." Ye Lan still remembered Geng Tian deliberately hiding the fact that Starlight wanted to sign Jiang Chi, which caused Ye Huaquan to misunderstand Jiang Chi. He said coldly, "Let's be clear. I'm only acknowledging the favor you did this time. As for why you can't continue to be Jiang Chi's manager, we both know the reason."

Geng Tian answered meekly, "Yes, yes."

"Once you're at Starlight, fix that habit of yours of being too clever for your own good. Also, no matter what, you came from Century Entertainment." Just mentioning this company made Ye Lan want to fly a plane into their building. "I can't completely trust you."

Geng Tian wanted to cry but had no tears. If he put it that way, Jiang Chi's origins weren't good either. He also came from Century Entertainment!

"I'll give you a chance to prove yourself first," Ye Lan said arrogantly in a cold voice. "Say this: 'The executives of Century Entertainment are all morons'."

Jiang Chi: "..."

"N-n-nothing's wrong now." Jiang Chi couldn't take it anymore. He fumbled to turn off the speakerphone and said hurriedly, "I'll remember what you did today. Not counting the Starlight matter, I will repay you for this."

Geng Tian hadn't expected such a huge turn of events. He quickly said, "No need, no need! Just don't hold a grudge against me, and don't whisper sweet nothings in Film Emperor Ye's ear to stop me from going to Starlight, that's all I ask!"

Pillow talk...

Jiang Chi's cheeks flushed red as he promised, "I-I won't."

Geng Tian was relieved. He sighed with emotion and gratitude for Ye Lan. Jiang Chi comforted him for a bit before hanging up.

The living room became quiet again.

Jiang Chi looked at his phone uneasily, not knowing when another call might come in.

Both of them were in the middle of filming. It had been very difficult to get today off. If this matter was truly suppressed just like that, they would each have to return to their respective crews tomorrow.

A chaotic confession, mixed in with this turmoil and the newly signed contract, left them no time to even talk properly.

Ye Lan's phone was still vibrating continuously as people sent him messages from time to time, reporting on the situation.

Ye Lan picked up his phone, quickly scanned through the messages, and said in a low voice, "Jiang Chi, for us... both professionally and privately, things are settled, right?"

Jiang Chi was still nervous and didn't immediately understand what Ye Lan meant.

There were only a few hours left for them to spend together. Ye Lan switched his phone to airplane mode and set it aside. "Professionally... I'm your big boss, your highest superior. If I were to use the 'unspoken rules' on you, it wouldn't be anything new in the industry. And privately..."

Ye Lan looked into Jiang Chi's eyes and smiled. "Privately, I like you."

Jiang Chi's heart began to pound.

"You don't have to say yes right away. Let me pursue you for a few more days." Ye Lan sat down next to Jiang Chi and smiled. "But let's be clear beforehand. Although you don't have to agree yet, since our feelings are mutual, you still have to bear the duties and responsibilities that lovers should."

Jiang Chi's heart stirred, and his eyes reddened instantly.

He suddenly understood why, just now outside the door, even though Ye Lan knew he liked him, he still had to ask, "Jiang Chi, can I pursue you?"

The proud and aloof Film Emperor Ye, who looked down on everyone, when he truly fell for someone, was willing to humble himself to the dust for him, blooming into a flower waiting for Jiang Chi to come and pick it.

Jiang Chi's heart was full, and when he opened his mouth, his voice came out disappointingly hoarse.

"Not saying anything? Didn't you understand? To put it plainly... I like you, I'll dote on you, and I'm willing to let you lead me on and make me work hard to chase you." Ye Lan took Jiang Chi's hand and lowered his head to kiss it. "But... when I want to kiss you and touch you, you can't refuse."

A smile played on Ye Lan's lips. "Like right now."

Ye Lan wrapped his arm around Jiang Chi, lowered his head slightly, and kissed his lips.